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Steffen Hessler: Temporalität und die Verwendung von diminuierten Grußformeln wie hallöchen und tschüsschen am Beispiel der gesprochenen Sprache des Ruhrgebiets 

This article examines forms of words such as hallöchen, tschüsschen etc., which are here labelled diminutive greetings, or diminutive formulas of greeting. Research so far has considered greetings with diminutive suffixes mainly from the perspective of the emotional attitude, respectively of the specific expressiveness, which can be associated with the use of diminutive suffixes. However, the semantic contribution of a diminution, respectively of a reduction, does not recede with the diminution of greetings. In fact, we are dealing with the representation of a specific temporality as compared to the unmarked forms. Many substandard constructions enunciate concepts the (written-language) standard German does not have any fixed expressions in store for. The diminutive greeting formulas, unlike the unmarked forms, indicate a reduced time span. The estimated time span – or the time span aimed at – until the communication partners meet again is, with terminal greetings such as tschüsschen, indicated to be shorter than with tschüss. Analogously, the time span in which the communication partners plan to conduct a conversation is shorter with initial greetings such as hallöchen than with its unmarked equivalent hallo. For the use of diminutive greetings, the speaker’s attitude towards the extralinguistic reality is determining. E. g., whether a reunion does in fact happen to occur extraordinarily early is not decisive in the moment of speech (and a definitive assertion concerning the time of the reunion is impossible anyway). It is rather the subjective assurance that the time until the reunion is going to be short which is relevant.

This expression of a “changed temporality” is depicted with the help of empirical evidence of the spoken language of the Ruhr district, which is supplemented with empirical evidence of newspaper articles and enunciations on the internet.